Immigration Enforcement
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 1, 2012 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Type | Law Enforcement |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Home Office |
| Website | Immigration Enforcement |
Immigration Enforcement (IE) is a division of the Home Office responsible for enforcing immigration law in the United Kingdom. It was established from the section of the former UK Border Agency (UKBA) responsible for enforcing immigration.
The Home Secretary Theresa May announced the abolition of the UK Border Agency on 26 March 2013, with the intention that its work would be returned to the Home Office. The agency's executive agency status was removed and internally it was split, with one division responsible for the visa system and the other for immigration enforcement.
Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the United Kingdom's immigration laws by conducting "visits" to residential and business premises. These visits can often be conducted with a court-issued warrant, in which forced entry may be used if necessary, in order to apprehend immigration offenders. Immigration Officers (IOs) [also referred to as Immigration Enforcement Officers] have a number of powers which allow them to carry out such enforcement work. Whilst on a visit, IOs will question encountered individuals about their immigration status and will arrest anyone found to be in breach of immigration law.
Arrest IOs, for the most part, will not deal with immigration offences as "criminal matters" (seeking to prosecute). In the vast majority of cases, a person who has been arrested will be served paperwork notifying them of their imminent removal from the United Kingdom, without any court involvement. This is known as "Administrative Removal" and should not be confused with "Deportation."
Immigration Enforcement has a number of internal departments, including Criminal & Financial Investigation (CFI) which is a non-uniformed, investigatory unit much like the Criminal Investigation Department within territorial police forces, responsible for investigating criminality surrounding immigration, such as the production of false documents, etc. IE also has its very own Intelligence Department, which is responsible for gathering and disseminating information, as well as other functions. Immigration Enforcement has signed up to the Professionalising Investigations Programme (PIP). Officers in CFI are required to pass the National Investigators Exam, which has been amended to additionally test Immigration knowledge, before completing the Initial Crime Investigators Development Programme (ICIDP) [PIP 2]. Once officers have completed their portfolio, they are added on to the national Criminal Investigators register and are the equivalent to a Detective Constable.
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